Norman Font - St Mary - Compton Abbas, Dorset - Romanesque Architecture on Waymarking.com

A Norman font featuring 'trails', which may have been re-cut by the Victorians. The font originally stood in the old church which fell into disuse, and only the 14th century tower remains (visit link) . The new church was built in 1868.

"The present parish church of 1866 has replaced the original medieval parish. It comprises a chancel with a polygonal apse, nave, narrow S aisle and south tower over entrance porch and stone broach spire. The ruined 15thc tower from the original church survives nearby at East Compton.

The Domesday Book values the settlement to its lord in 1086, Shaftesbury Abbey, as £10. By the 1291 Taxatio, the patronage was held by Milton Abbey, but it was not appropriated and left as a rectory, with a portion of the tithes going to the vicar of Ludington.

From the earlier church. A circular tub-shaped bowl of fine buff-grey limestone encircled by raised foliate scroll decoration ending in pointed trefoils. The base has a roll-moulding. A small square fillet runs around the top, and the rim slopes downward into the basin. Both top and fillet have heavy parallel tooth-chiselled tooling: it and that to the bowl, which was fashioned by a flat chisel, would appear to be the original. The original hinge and hasp are missing, the mounting for the former broken away, the latter filled with fine Portland cement of the 19thc, when the lead lining to the basin also appears to have been replaced.

The circular supporting drum is 19thc as is the square base, which has spurs of stiff-leaf foliage at each of its corners, and the plinth upon which it rests. All are of a slightly coarser, brown-buff limestone. If the base be an accurate copy of what went before, this and the fact that the foliage to the tub has pointed rather than the club ends typical of the Romanesque, suggests this font is of the early 13thc rather than 12thc.

Dimensions

SOURCE - (visit link)